


Sounds like gunfire

by sgtbaarnes (Thighz)



Series: OW Tumblr Shorts [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Blow Jobs, Brief war imagery, Fireworks, Fourth of July, M/M, Old Age, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sexual Content, old soldiers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 12:32:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11380245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thighz/pseuds/sgtbaarnes
Summary: “What did you see?” Gabriel finally asks.Jack tries not to think about it, wants to push it away because that was the worst memory to have during a panic attack.“Jack.” Gabriel’s voice is firm, the thumb behind his ear becomes a anchoring pressure.War follows you home.





	Sounds like gunfire

**Author's Note:**

> **Reminder that the Fourth of July is approaching. In order to bring awareness to the holiday in a light that is not festive, I’ve written this.**
> 
> **[Please remember that fireworks mimic the sound of gunfire and to a man or woman who has seen active war zones, that is an instant panic attack.  
>  Please be respectful of the veterans in your neighborhoods, groups, apartment complexes. If you see the sign, relocate your fun.]**
> 
> **I want to thank the men and women were were comfortable enough to share their experiences with me so that I may write this. I thank you for your service.**
> 
> **Thank you**

 

 

 

 

 

Jack wakes up how he usually does, all at once. The smooth white ceiling greets him first and a low snore erupts from his left. A small grin graces his features, worn by age and desert sun. He sits up slowly, joints cracking and back aching despite the expensive fucking mattress Gabriel insisted they buy. 

Gabriel himself is still passed clean out on his back, right arm thrown over his eyes and left curled on his chest. Another snore comes, softer than the last, cured by the humidifier puffing away on the bedside table. He leans over and presses a kiss above Gabe’s naked pec before tossing the covers away and heading for the bathroom to relieve his bladder. 

The morning is slow, lethargic even as he finishes his business and peers into their bathroom mirror. He needs to shave again, should probably take a shower before he gets ready for work. 

“Don’t even try it.” 

Gabriel’s voice, sleep rough and even, nearly startles him out of his skin.

Jack glances over his shoulder, squints, “I can’t go into work looking like a-.”

“It’s a holiday Morrison.” Gabe lifts an eyebrow and it stretches the scars lining the left side of his face, but doesn’t make him any less handsome. There’s grey at his temples, some of it lining the once curly black locks. He’s graying slower than Jack, at least, who lost the bright blonde of his hair a long,  _ long _ time ago. 

_ Holiday. _

Jack closes his eyes, drops his head, “Holiday.”

“Yep. No work till tomorrow. You’re spending the day in bed with me.” Gabriel shimmies up behind him, arms winding around Jack’s midsection and settling low at his hips. 

Gabriel’s grin is sharklike as he bites into Jack’s shoulder, soothes it with a kiss, “Think you can keep up with me, old man?” 

Jack sneers, elbows him in the ribs, “You’re only five years younger than me, Gabe.”

“And still in prime form.” Gabriel sets about pulling Jack’s half-awake cock out of his boxers. He drops the elastic under his balls, snapping it against the skin of his thigh. 

Pleasure skitters across the skin of his arms, cock jerking just a bit in Gabe’s loose fist. Jack bites at his bottom lip, watches Gabe’s hand in the mirror as it tightens just a bit, slides up to the tip and back down to the base. He’s fully hard in seconds and a rough, calloused finger swipes over the tip of his dick, gathering the fluid already pearling. 

Another swipe is slicker, and another until Jack’s head is tipped back into Gabriel’s shoulder and his hips are pressing eagerly into the fist around him. The pleasure is warm and loose in the pit of his stomach, sending him just a bit higher with every stroke. 

Gabe surprises him half way to orgasm by releasing his cock, gaining a disappointed grunt from Jack. Hands are twisting him around by his hips, pressing his ass into the edge of the sink. Jack lets out an aroused growl as Gabe sinks to his knees, right hand wrapping back around the base of Jack’s cock and mouthing at the tip. 

The blow job is  _ fantastic _ . Jack curls one hand around the back of Gabe’s head, the other holds tight to the edge of the counter. His toes curl into the tile floor as his cock sinks into Gabriel’s mouth and just barely touches the back of his throat. Jack lets out a groan, cracks his eyes open just enough to look between his legs and watch Gabriel’s hot mouth sink repeatedly on his dick. 

Gabe’s eyes are closed, fingers tight and wet with saliva at the base. He can see Gabe’s other hand inside his boxers, stroking languidly, tip glistening. Jack knows that’s going inside of him laster and fuck it’s just as hot a thought at near 50 as it was in their 20’s. 

His fingers tighten at the base of Gabriel’s skull and he lets out a soft, “Gabe, I’m gonna-.” and Gabe sucks harder, strokes his own cock faster. 

The orgasm is cleansing and it tingles down to Jack’s toes and sends his heart rate through the roof. He damn near collapses against the edge of the sink and his brain comes back online just in time to feel Gabriel burry his face in Jack’s thigh as he comes all over the bathroom floor. 

Gabriel lets out a soft, exhausted laugh, “My knees are killing me.”

Jack grins lazily down at him, “Who’s old now?” 

Gabriel sinks his teeth into Jack’s thigh, earning him a swipe at his head. Jack reaches over and snatches a rag from the rack about the toilet, handing it to Gabe, who wipes up his mess from the floor. He winces when Gabe stands up, knees cracking from being down so long. 

Jack pulls him into a kiss, can taste himself on Gabe’s tongue. They melt together, chests pressing tight and hands cupping hips and ass. When they pull apart, Jack knows he’s wearing a dopey grin and Gabriel just kisses him again before twisting away.

“I gave the blow job, you make breakfast.”

Jack groans, but relents, “Fine, but I’m putting blueberries in the pancakes.”

Gabriel waves over his shoulder, “Whatever you want fruit princess.”

 

 

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

 

 

They spend the morning trading syrup sticky kisses and work horror stories. It’s unusual for them to have a day off in the middle of the week, big breakfasts and bathroom blow jobs were saved for special occasions and anniversaries. 

True to Gabe’s word, however, they did in fact spend most of the day in bed, Jack on his stomach, taking it from behind. They watched reruns of their favorites shows until late afternoon when Jack dozed off in bed. 

He’s dreaming, barely, when the first firework goes off. 

The first thing he sees it the bomb. It detonates behind his eyes, the building in front of him crumbling to the ground in flames and debris. He can hear Gabriel shouting at him, someone else on his end yanking at his arms. 

His chest is on  _ fire. _

Jack inhales sharply, bedroom coming into focus and the fireworks outside their home continuing at an alarming pace. They’re loud, raucous. He struggles to get out of bed, his eyes refuses to cooperate. 

The panic attack is unwelcome, but unavoidable. His hands grasp at the frame to his bedroom door, vision doubled and flashes of a war zone he’s no longer in behind his eyes. His chest is still burning, but those wounds have long since healed.

_ You’re not there. _

He reaches the entertainment center in a mess of shaking limbs and nausea. His fingers fumble with the glass door, fights the urge to break through it with his fist. There’s already blood on his hands, too much blood, he’s holding Gabriel. 

His husbands, no...they weren’t husbands yet. Gabe’s face is streaked in blood and Jack’s chest heaves, trying to pull air in. 

He presses his head to the wood of the center, tries to calm everything, can only see blood and fire and Gabe-

The glass door opens and Jack hits the power button on the stereo system. 

Loud, angry music blasts through the apartment, drowning the horrible sound of fireworks from outside the walls of their home.

Their-

Jack inhales again, can’t get his brain to stop  _ flashing _ . He can only see Gabriel, blood on his face, not Jack’s own blood this time, his own-

Gabriel-

Jack’s head jerks up, he glances around wildly, a new sense of panic searing his chest.

“ _ Gabriel _ ?!” He pushes to his feet, wincing at the protest of his joints. 

The house is empty.

Jack fumbles to find his phone, can’t find it anywhere. Instead finds a note written on the magnet grocery list attached to the fridge. 

_ Went to get pizza. Be back soon. _

There are  _ fireworks _ blasting everywhere and Gabriel’s  _ outside.  _

Jack finally finds the cellphone and his hands shake as he dials Gabriel’s number. It rings and rings with no answer and Jack curses to himself, tries again. He gets the voicemail six times before he finds his house keys and heads for the front door, determined to go out and wade through the noise and the flashbacks and bring Gabriel  _ home. _

When he gets to the door, the knob is shaking. Jack can’t hear anything on the other side, the music's too loud and it drowns out everything else around him. He reaches out and flips the lock, pulling the door open, only to have Gabriel stumble inside and into his arms. 

Jack’s back hits the hallway wall and they slide down together, Gabriel’s fingers digging painfully into the skin of his arms. His beanie-covered head drops onto Jack’s chest and he has just enough of a mind to kick the front door closed to block out the continuing fireworks. 

Gabe shakes against him, breathing labored and nails scraping at Jack’s exposed flesh. Jack doesn’t care, his own panic has passed and he wraps himself around Gabriel’s hunched form, hoping the emergency music helps.

It takes a long while. 

Jack doesn’t pull away or let go. The music continues around them, but even Jack can still hear the distant crack of american festivities outside their door.

“Are they in the neighborhood?” Jack asks, keeping his voice low.

Gabriel nods once, curls deeper into Jack’s chest. Jack scowls over Gabe’s head at the front door. He’s going to have a word with neighborhood watch in the morning. They had not one, but  _ two _ ‘A veteran lives here’ signs in their front yard. 

Gabriel had put them out a week before the holiday, hoping the watch would get the message and bring their loud party favors where they were supposed to be,  _ outside _ the city limits. 

Jack eventually lifts Gabe’s head, kisses him gently, drags the both of them through the house and into the bedroom. He tucks Gabriel in first, goes to make sure the playlist will last through the night, grabs a few bottles of water. 

When he returns to the room, Gabriel quickly pulls him back under the covers. They curl together, much like the did in foxholes overseas. Gabe’s eyes glitter in the darkness of their bedroom, but they wince when a particularly loud set of fireworks breaks through the screaming music around them. 

Jack cups the side of his face, “What did you see?” He asks, pressing their foreheads together. 

They learned, many years after coming home together, that describing what they saw, felt, heard, was a good way to make it a memory instead of a present day attack. It had been Gabriel’s idea, after Jack refused months of therapy. The technique worked so well, Jack ended up joining Gabriel at the VA.

Gabe keeps his eyes on Jack’s, “The firefight in Afghanistan.” He mumbles, “The one where Beloise was shot and you had a broken ankle and a gunshot wound to the shoulder.” He swallows and Jack feels Gabe’s hand find his neck, thumb stroking behind his ear, “You carried both of us all the way to cover.” 

Jack chuckles, “You had a fractured femur, Gabe.”

“Doesn’t mean I don’t think about the pain you were obviously in.” Gabe mumbles.

They breath for a bit, a new song switches easily. It’s higher than the last one and now the fireworks are a distant thing, thank god.

“What did you see?” Gabriel finally asks.

Jack tries not to think about it, wants to push it away because that was the worst memory to have during a panic attack. 

“Jack.” Gabriel’s voice is firm, the thumb behind his ear becomes a anchoring pressure.

“Our third tour.” Jack whispers, “The bomb in the restaurant, that little family owned place. We lost….everyone but us.” The memory is fresh, he can almost smell the smoke and dust from the explosion, “You were covered in blood.”

“From a head wound.” Gabriel recalls, “Yea. That hurt like a bitch, but you had a chest full of shrapnel too you know.”

Jack groans, “We are so fucked up. Competing for who had the worst injuries.”

Gabe’s grin is brilliant and welcome between them, “Chicks dig scars.” Jack can barely see his facial features in the darkness, but he knows Gabe is wiggling his eyebrows.

Jack scowls, “Not our kind of scars.”

The grin fades and in its place is a face too serious to belong on Gabriel Reyes’ features. Jack swallows thickly, chest quivering as both of Gabe’s hands reach out to hold Jack’s neck. 

“I love your scars, Jack.” His voice holds no hesitation, does not waver, “We got those scars  _ together _ . We walked out of that hellhole five times and look where we are.” 

“Shaking under the sheets.” Jack snaps, “Like five year olds afraid of the dark.”

Gabriel growls, “Married. Together.  _ Alive. _ ” His fingers tighten, “We’re  _ alive _ , Jackie.” 

He doesn’t miss how wet those words sound coming from Gabe’s lips. His body moves forward and he curls an arm around Gabe’s waist, pulls him closer as well until their chest are touching again. Jack swallows again, gives Gabriel a burning kiss. 

“I’d do it all over again if it meant I could be right here with you.” Gabriel whispers, “Every time.”

Jack refuses to cry. They cried last time this happened. He won’t do it now, but it’s a close thing and he nuzzles his head into Gabe’s neck. The other man sighs into him, dropping his hands down to curl into Jack’s shirt. 

“I love you too.” Jack mumbles into the skin of Gabe’s neck, “Scars and all.” 

He feels Gabe’s face twist into his hair, a grin and a kiss set into his temple.

Jack’s afraid to fall asleep, things like this are hard to bounce back from. The fireworks will bleed through the night around them and the music is hard to sleep with. He probably won’t get much sleep, he’ll be grouchy and tired at work tomorrow.

But-

He curls tighter around the body next to his, closes his eyes.

_ But, _ he’ll wake up next to Gabriel.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I want to again thank the couple and my friends for sitting down with me and helping me write this. Their everyday experiences were brought to light in this fic to remind people that PTSD does not care how good your day has been.
> 
> It interrupts everyday life. It happens during sex, after sex, making coffee, watching TV, etc. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and thank you for your support, kudos, and comments.


End file.
